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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

2009 soundtrack to Wes Anderson's first animated feature, based on the beloved Roald Dahl book. Academy Award nominee Anderson is best known for his film's Rushmore, The Royal Tenebaums and The Darjeeling Limited. Fantastic Mr. Fox. makes its Atlantic-crossing aboard a magical soundtrack featuring an unforgettable score by award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat, as well as vintage Folk, Jazz, Pop and Rock tracks hand-picked by Wes Anderson and music supervisor Randall Poster. Standouts include an unreleased track by former Pulp founder and frontman, Jarvis Cocker and a classic Rolling Stones track. Also features music from The Beach Boys, Burl Ives, The Bobby Fuller Four and The Wellingtons.

Review

3 1/2 STARS Director Wes Anderson's whimsical style is just as present musically as it is visually, and "Fox" is one of his finest showcases on both fronts. Anchored by tender but sprightly sketches from Alexandre Desplat, the soundtrack veers into familiar but still fruitful territory with a version of "Ol' Man River" from the Beach Boys and a few charmers from Burl Ives. In this playful mix, Jarvis Cocker's twangy banjo ditty fits right in. -- Los Angeles Times, Todd Martens, December 26, 2009

Sounding Fantastic. If the trailers for Wes Anderson's stop-motion-animation adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's book Fantastic Mr. Fox aren't enough to suggest great stuff ahead (the film opens Nov. 20), the sound track should clinch the deal. An integral component of the writer/director's movies thus far (think John Lennon's "Oh Yoko!" in Rushmore, Nick Drake's "Fly" in The Royal Tenenbaums), the collection of songs and tunes for Fantastic Mr. Fox includes such furry numbers as "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" from the Wellingtons, two from the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man," and a handful of Burl Ives incantations - yes, Burl Ives! - guaranteed to spark a Burl revival. Throw in some Art Tatum, Jarvis Cocker, and Bobby Fuller Four, plus beautiful instrumental sketches from French composer Alexandre Desplat, and you have one of the loveliest, most eccentric sound tracks to come along since - well, since Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited. -- The Philadelphia Inquirer, Steven Rea, October 25, 2009

FOUR STARS Nearly all of Wes Anderson's films have had a strong sense of childlike wonder, but Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is based on Roald Dahl's charming book, is his first film specifically for children. The movie's soundtrack manages to take nearly all of Anderson's musical fascinations -- Anglophilia, Francophilia, '60s pop and rock, and music from other gentler and/or quirkier times -- and tailor them to a younger audience. Though Anderson's films and their soundtracks have been criticized for valuing style over substance, Fantastic Mr. Fox's stylization is fitting, given that the film's characters are stop-motion animal puppets. The soundtrack's songs and Alexandre Desplat's score mix delicacy and rough-and-tumble energy while reminding listeners of what children's movies and music used to be like before being cool took precedence over everything else. While there are two songs from Anderson favorites the Beach Boys, "Heroes and Villains" and "Ol' Man River," it's Burl Ives who contributes the most songs to Fantastic Mr. Fox. Ives' grandfatherly tone made him one of the most enduring and endearing voices in children's entertainment, and the tracks that appear here ("Fooba Wooba John," "Buckeye Jim," and "The Grey Goose") dig into his pastoral folk roots. Likewise, the Wellingtons' "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" conjures instant nostalgia and childhood adventure, both of which are echoed in Desplat's score. Cues like "Jimmy Squirrel and Co." and "Boggis, Bunce, and Bean" are as twinkly and precious as previous Anderson film scores, but more rural elements like banjo and Jew's harp roughen them up enough to fit in with the soundtrack's overall folky feel. Meanwhile, "Just Another Dead Rat in a Garbage Pail (Behind a Chinese Restaurant)," "Great Harrowsford Square," and "Stunt Expo 2004" have a spaghetti Western-like air of danger and intrigue that sets the stage for the somber "Canis Lupis" and Georges Delerue's noble "Le Grand Choral." Moodier moments aside, Fantastic Mr. Fox is mostly gleeful, especially on the Bobby Fuller Four's "Let Her Dance," Jarvis Cocker's "Fantastic Mr. Fox aka Petey's Song," and the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man" -- this may be one of the only children's films where a song about "violent revolution" is actually appropriate. While this album is less about digging into Anderson's deep record collection than his other film's soundtracks have been, Fantastic Mr. Fox may be the most purely joyous one since Rushmore. -- All Music Guide, Heather Phares, October 30, 2009

Top customer reviews

*MUSIC*Its a great film = Its a great soundtrack. Featuring the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys, very Wes Andersonesque, the soundtrack features most of the great songs featured in the film, as well as a majority of the score, ('However, it excludes one of my favourite themes and that is the Digging Theme!!! ((Well, I suppose theirs only so much room on a disk)), ) I know you can buy just the score but, I already bought this. Never mine, the unique tracks like Jarvis Cockers song about Mr Fox more than makes up for it. Let Her Dance should be played at the end of every truly quirky and delightful adventure and everyone should dance like a fox. Well, you can in your own home if you buy this product. Alexander Desplat's score is the perfect quirky and southern american/beatnicky/thanksgivingy/calssicaly feel to it. Couldn't imaging the film any other way.

*PRODUCT*Well, mine actually arrived cracked and is pretty crummy packaging with a New Zealand sticker on it (I live in AU), so that wasn't great, but oh well, that's probably wont happen to you. The cover art is a little dark... that's about it that's wrong with it... everything else is great. Buy it.

I really enjoy the Fantastic Mr. Fox soundtrack, and I'm glad it was nominated for an Academy Award. (In a slightly related note, I'm glad Up's soundtrack was nominated as well.) This CD is a good mix of songs by film composer Alexandre Desplat and licensed songs. The first track "American Empirical Pictures" serves as a nice intro to "The Ballad of Davy Crockett". The soundtrack includes two songs (sung) by the Beach Boys: "Hereos and Villains" and "Ol' Man River". There are three Burl Ives songs, and a few other classic rock songs.

The song "Fantastic Mr. Fox AKA Petey's Song" has really clever lyrics, and I think it deserves one or two awards anywhere. Using the song "Love" (sung by Nancy Adams) makes a subtle connection between this film and another film, based on shared key story elements in each.

What really stands out on this soundtrack, however, are the tracks "Great Harrowsford Square" and "Stunt Expo 2004", where Alexandre Desplat takes the original lyrics of "Boggis Bunce and Bean" which Roald Dahl wrote and composes music for it. Then the London Oratory School Boy's Choir sings the lyrics as if they were "local human children" singing about the farmers. With the cool arangement backing it, and the climatic scene which it accompanies in the film, this just might be the Crowning Music of Awesome for both the soundtrack and movie, but that's just my opinion. If you loved "Fantastic Mr. Fox", then I reccommend getting this soundtrack too when you buy the film on DVD. If you really loved the film, then you should get the "making of" book about the film, written by Wes Anderson himself. It includes lots of concept art and photos of the puppets, interviews, and more.

I am a great fan of Wes Anderson's films and the music he uses in them. This soundtrack features some very fun Burl Ives classics as well as the beautiful score by Desplat. This score sounds like something that Anderson's previous collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh would have composed but more sophisticated and orchestral. Fun, nostalgic and lovely.

Nothing like cruising to The Beach Boys' "Heroes and Villains" and every other amazing song that is part of this soundtrack.Not to mention that the soundtrack makes me think of the movie, and the movie makes me think of George Clooney.. And boy, do I love George Clooney!

After I saw the movie, I wanted to continue listening to the music, so I bought this soundtrack. The score by Alexandre Desplat is playful, joyous and nostalgic at the same time. Combined with the tunes by the Beach Boys, Jarvis Cocker and Burl Yves, this soundtrack managed to do what other records couldn't: making me play it again, and again and again. Great work!

This is a fabulous movie soundtrack. I think even people who haven't seen the movie will like it! It's got a delicious mix of all kinds of music. Believe it or not, it was great to hear Burl Ives' seemingly silly folk songs from the 50s, after all these years. How can you not like an album that starts off with The Ballad of Davy Crockett?